Rachel and Robert
by Echo1317
Summary: A companion piece to All Or Nothing. It's just about the Chase's past, and it will hopefully give a better insight into Rachel and Robert's messed up relationship.


**Rachel and Robert**

One-shot I did, originally for contest I had. Companion to 'All Or Nothing' so that I get to know the Chase family better. Decided it was good to post on its own. New prize for contest. Half-sentances cuz I'm tired. Word starting with 's' over there is spelled wrong. Drabble about Chase children when they were young.

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Rachel Chase is 3 years old. Her brother, Robert, is 13, and has just received his first Marks. She watches as her father carefully carves them into his skin, and he winces. She asks her father when _she_ will get her Marks, and her brother becomes pale. Her father chuckles, and tells her all in good time. Robert silently hopes that his sister will never be Marked, and that she is allowed to keep her innocence. Maybe, if he's a good enough Shadowhunter, he can protect her from the horrible world in which they live.

Rachel Chase is 4 years old. She hears her mother and father shouting at each other through the walls. She hides her head under her pillow, hoping that that will make the noise go away. After a few hours of sleeplessness, she drags herself out of bed and into her brother's room across the hall. She wakes him gently and asks him when their parents will stop fighting. He sighs and pulls her into bed next to him, and tells her that they will stop soon. He puts a tape in his radio and plays Rachel's favorite lullaby, to which she falls asleep instead of their parents' angry voices. Robert silently hopes that their parents will stop fighting, and that Rachel will be allowed to grow up in a happy home. Maybe, if he keeps his parents busy enough with his training, he can protect her from their rage.

Rachel Chase is 5 years old. She doesn't understand why her daddy went away, or why her mommy won't put down the bottle of the funny smelling drink. Robert takes her to school now instead of her mommy, and he talks to her teachers a lot, too. Rachel draws the runes she sees her brother carve into his skin on her art projects, and her teacher doesn't like it. One day while they walk home, Rachel asks Robert why their father left. Robert stops and bends down to pick her up, and tells her that he had to take care of some people in a far away place. She knows he's a doctor, and she asks Robert when he will come back. He tells her he doesn't know. Robert silently hopes that Rachel will accept this explanation, and that she won't ask any more questions he doesn't know the answer to. Maybe, if he tries harder to be a good brother, he can protect her from the pain of their father abandoning them.

Rachel Chase is 6 years old. A strange looking man came to her house one day, and he took her mommy away through a Portal. Robert tells her that their mommy is just going to be gone for a little while, like their daddy is. Rachel doesn't believe him, but she says ok anyway. A few days later, the man comes back. Robert calls him Magnus, and thanks him for making the Portal. He takes Rachel through the Portal, too, and they go to a pretty place Robert calls Idris. She likes how blue the sky is, and how soft the grass is. They go to a fancy house, where Robert gives her a white dress with red runes on it. They go to a big, grassy park, and Rachel plays just outside of it with Magnus while Robert and a woman with red hair stand over a piece of marble inside the gates. Rachel asks Magnus why Robert is crying. He smiles at her, but he looks sad, and tells her that Robert is sad. When he comes back, Rachel gives him a big hug and says she loves him very much. Robert silently hopes that Rachel will always love him as she does now, with the unguarded innocence only a child can. Maybe, if he keeps up with her well enough, he can protect her from the kind of hurt that can closed love off from the world.

Rachel Chase is 7 years old. Her brother's friend Magnus comes over alot now, and he watches her while Robert is out. One day when Robert gets home, the Marks on his skin are gone. Magnus sighs and makes Rachel go to her room while he has a talk with Robert. She listens, and hears Robert say that the Clave took away his Marks because he hasn't been fighting demons like he should be. At dinner, Rachel asks Robert who the Clave is. He tells her that they are the people who keep the Shadowhunters in check. She doesn't quite know what he means by this, but she doesn't ask anymore questions. Robert silently hopes that because he has been stripped of his Marks, that the Clave will leave them alone. Maybe, if he hides her long enough, he can protect her from them.

Rachel Chase is 8 years old. She has a new home now, in New York. She sees Magnus even more often now; every day on his way to school, Robert drops her off at his house. Magnus takes her to and from school, and now he talks to her teachers. Robert works in the afternoons and nights, and sometimes she spends the night at Magnus' house. The warlock has grown find of the girl, and he does whatever he can to make sure that Robert can raise her well. Rachel is smart, and she knows by now that her father is not ever coming back. That's ok, she thinks, because she had her brother and she has Magnus, and that's all she needs. She asks Magnus if he thinks she will be a good Shadowhunter one day. He tells her she will be a great Shadowhunter, and she will make her brother very proud of her. Robert silently hopes Magnus is wrong, and that the Clave will take pity on her and not allow her to get her Marks. Maybe, if gets the internship he's applied for, he can protect her from the cruel realities of their life.

Rachel Chase is 9 years old. She has moved once again, this time to New Jersey, where her brother works at a hospital. He says that he doesn't officially work there yet, but she goes with him there on the weekends, and people there treat him like he's a doctor. She stays in a room with a big TV and glass windows when she goes, and there's a man named House who lets her watch the movies her brother says are too violent for her. He says it's their secret. She asks House why he walks with a cane. He tells her because the world has a sick sense of humor. Robert silently hopes that Dr. House isn't getting to her with his cynical views. Maybe, if he keeps her away from him, he can protect her from the horrible things that House tells her about the world.

Rachel Chase is 10 years old. Magnus still comes over a lot, but she doesn't go to his house any more. She talks to him about the Shadowhunter world, because Robert won't hear a word of it. He recalls stories about a Circle and an evil man who controlled it. He says that because of the man, lots of warlocks, and fey, and vampires, and werewolves, and even Shadowhunters died. Rachel listens intensely, and says that one day, she will help to defeat the evil man. Magnus says he has already been killed. Rachel asks him what the man's name was. He tells her that he was called Valentine. She knows her brother doesn't like her talking to Magnus about their world, but she doe anyway. Robert silently hopes that Magnus will stop telling her all the nonsense about the Uprising being so radical and how much it may or may not have helped their world. Maybe, if he talks to Rachel about it enough, he can protect her from the seduction of the hunt.

Rachel Chase is 11 years old. She decides that she wants more than anything to become a Shadowhunter. She confides in Dr. House that she when she grows up, her brother is going to hate her for what she wants to do with her life. He says that that's impossible. Rachel doesn't believe him. One night, she tells Robert she wants her Marks. He yells at her and makes her go to her room. A few weeks go by, and she hasn't seen Magnus. She asks her brother why he hasn't come over. He tells her that Magnus can't come to see her anymore, and she know that it is because Robert told him not to. She refuses to speak to her brother any more that necessary. Robert silently hopes that her behavior will change soon. Maybe, if he keeps the warlock far enough away from her, he can protect her from is stories that make her want to throw away her life.

Rachel Chase is 12 years old. She is becoming a rebel, and her brother can't stand it. She wears dark make up that he doesn't even know where she got, and she dresses in all black all the time like she knows the Shadowhunters do. Her teachers call Robert in for a conference because they worry about Rachel. She seems disconnected from the other students, and she is slacking in her schoolwork. She's a bright girl, they say, but she doesn't use her brain like they hope she will. Robert says it's just a phase, and he will talk to her about the work. Rachel locks herself in her room and refuses to speak to him. Eventually, she she comes out and asks him why he hates the Clave so much. He tells her that he doesn't hate the Clave; he hates what they've done to his family. Robert silently hopes that Rachel will come around to his way of thinking. Maybe, if he keeps her here, he can protect her from the Clave's misguided attempts at saving the world.

Rachel Chase is 13 years old. She buy a bus ticket and goes to New York, praying that Magnus Bane still lives in the same place. She finds him in his old apartment, and he is both shocked and happy to see her. She says that Robert doesn't know she is there, and he can't find out. She tells Magnus that she needs him to find her a Shadowhunter in New York that will give her her Marks. He says he knows just the woman, and takes Rachel to an apartment building near by. The woman with red hair who Rachel remembers from her mother's funeral opens the door, and does not look happy to see them. Magus explains to Jocelyn Fray that Rachel needs her Marks. At first, Jocelyn is hesitant to scar the child's body, but she soon recognizes the strong will that all of the Chase's had. If this was what she wanted, she was going to get it no matter what. She takes her stele out of the drawer where she has hidden it for so long. She carefully carves runes into Rachel's skin, and when she is done, Rachel is a fully Marked Shadowhunter. A surge of pride runs through her when Jocelyn offers to take her to Alicante to get her gear. They are not there for very long, but the beauty of the Glass City still stuns her. She twirls her glittering stele in her hands, vowing never to be without it. She is covered from head to toe in the Shadowhunter's black uniform, and there are weapons clinging to her body everywhere, and she has a Seraph blade hanging from her hip. She thanks Jocelyn countless time, and the older woman smiles. It feels surprisingly good to be in the company of a young Shadowhunter, one who is still excited about their lifestyle. When Rachel gets home, it's late at night, and Robert is furious. He sees the runes on her shoulders and goes pale. He yells, as he has been doing more often, but this time Rachel yells back. She asks him why he hates her. He tells her he does not hate her, only her decision to throw her life away by handing it over to the Clave. Robert silently hopes that when she realizes her mistake, she will be allowed to give up her Marks freely. Maybe, if he doesn't allow her to go out and hunt, he can protect her from this mistake.

Rachel Chase is 14 years old. No matter how hard he tries, Robert has not been able to stop her from hunting demons in New Jersey. She flees to New York every weekend and stays with Magnus. Jocelyn teaches her how to fight when her daughter is away, and Rachel is very grateful. Robert still worries for his sister, and wonders how much she will be able to take before she breaks. He doesn't realize how strong she is. She has dropped out of school, content with the mundane knowledge she has to get her through the day. She often comes home with new cuts and bruises, which disappear by the morning. She asks Robert if he is proud of her. He tells her he's proud of how much she can endure. Robert silently hopes that this is enough for her. Maybe, if he lies well enough, he can protect her from his disappointment.

Rachel Chase is 15 years old. She is an experienced Shadowhunter, and she hunts more often than she ever has before. Robert sees how much she enjoys what she does, and how happy it makes her, and it sickens him. She should not have to be so serious, she should be having a normal childhood, having fun with her friends and hanging out with someone other than an eight hundred year old warlock. When he voices his concerns to Dr. House, looking for some sort of advice, he merely says that Rachel is not a normal child. She isn't a child at all anymore. Rachel and Robert don't have the good relationship they used to, and both are saddened by their distance. Rachel asks him if he thinks they will ever be that close again. He tells her he doesn't know. Robert silently hopes that one day they will be able to fix what has been broken. Maybe, if he holds on tightly enough to her, he can protect her from being as shattered as he had become.

Rachel Chase is 16 years old. She understands now why her mother and father fought so frequently, and why her father left them. She understands why her mother drank what she now realizes to be alcohol, and why she killed herself through it. She understands why her brother was stripped of hi Marks and why he hates the Clave so much. She understands why he hates what she does, and why he wants so badly to protect her. She wishes sometimes that they could be the way they were years ago; innocent and carefree, and happy. She asks Robert if he has any regrets about the way he brought her up. He tells her he doesn't, but she knows it's a lie. Robert silently hopes that Rachel won't go up in flames like so many other Shadowhunters have before her. Maybe, if he tries hard enough, he can protect her from herself.

FIN

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13 doesn't make much sense. Have explanation. Jocelyn asked Magnus to disguise her. Hey, that gramatically correct sentance! I doing good for only 4 hours of sleep... goodnight, now. *lets head fall on keyboard and snores loudly*

Jace: I'll go ahead and finish up this author's note, since Echo appears to be asleep. Actually, I think the author's note was done. Hey- I'm not in this story! What the crap, Echo? I should be in all stories! Whatever... I'm leaving now. Bye. :(


End file.
